


Ember Valient (working title)

by Wonderose7



Series: Ember Valient [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Astronomy, Blood Purity Issues, Charms Class (Harry Potter), Defense Against the Dark Arts, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Friendship, Good Slytherins, Herbology Class (Harry Potter), History of Magic Class (Harry Potter), Hogwarts, Hogwarts First Year, Hogwarts Inter-House Friendships, Hogwarts Inter-House Unity, Homework, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Potions Class (Harry Potter), Quidditch, School, Slytherin Pride, Transfiguration (Harry Potter), no beta I have no friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-26
Packaged: 2021-03-28 14:48:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30141204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wonderose7/pseuds/Wonderose7
Summary: Ember Valient's family is famous. They've produced auror after auror, and her parents are well known for their role in the war against You-Know-Who. Ember has always tried to make her parents proud, but there's just one problem. She's starting at Hogwarts and every Valient, every Valient, is a Gryffindor. When the sorting doesn't go as planned, Ember has to juggle her family's outrage on top of regular classwork and friendships. Things at Hogwarts are never easy...
Relationships: Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Series: Ember Valient [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2218422
Kudos: 1





	1. Bags of Shopping

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, this is my first fanfiction ever! I wanted to write something that focused on everyday student life and the struggles an average Hogwarts student might face outside of Harry's escapade of the year. Please keep in mind that Ember is one year ahead of Harry, so most of the characters you know and love will appear in the second installment. There will be no romantic relationships until (at least) the third installment because they are eleven. Please let me know what you think, especially in terms of my actual writing. Also, I think I'll just update as I finish chapters, but if any readers would prefer a regular schedule I'll try to adhere to one. Thanks for reading!

Ember could hear her cousins calling for her, but she didn’t answer. She hated being around them every hour of every day. What she’d give for some peace and quiet.

She had found it right here, in a shadowy aisle of Flourish & Blott’s. She ran her hands along the thick spines of the books around her and blocked out the noise. There was a lovely smell in the air, the smell of old books and hidden secrets, and the only light came through the cracks between the books, giving the whole area a lovely, dappled effect. It seemed no one ever came back here.

Ember never had isolation like this. The Valient household was always teeming with busy employees, demanding parents, and nosy relatives. Ember had been to Diagon Alley before, but this was the first time she’d been let off her leash. Her parents had eventually acquiesced to let Ember go with her cousins to do her school shopping, and Ember had jumped at the chance, even though Neal and Kara were the most pretentious people she knew.

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t last long. The longer Ember stayed hidden, the more annoyed her cousins would get, and the more likely it was her parents would hear about it. She longed to stay and pore over the books for the next few hours, but she couldn’t. Ember sighed and left her sanctuary to join a now properly frustrated Neal and Kara. It was better to just reappear. What would they say if they found her in the Curses and Dark Arts aisle?

“No more wandering off,” Kara snapped, keeping a tight grip on Ember’s wrist as they marched through the cobblestone street. “We’re getting your wand, and then we’re leaving, understand?”

Ember nodded mutely, then winced when Kara twisted her wrist awkwardly.

They came to Ollivander’s quickly, and Kara all but shoved Ember inside. If that aisle in Flourish & Blott’s was dusty, this place was a veritable tornado of must and grime. For a shop that every student went to get their wand, it looked almost untouched. There were a few rickety wooden chairs set against the wall, and one of them was already filled. The chair in question was being used by a boy, probably a first year. He was blond and looked far more confident and self-assured than any other first years Ember had seen. The closer September 1st came, the more of a nervous wreck most of them became, and Ember was no exception.

“Hey there,” the boy said.

“Hello.” Ember quickly gave her greeting then sat down in the chair farthest from the boy.

“I’m Cormac McLaggen,” he continued, seemingly unperturbed by her lack of interest, “and you are?”

“Ember.”

“Ollivander will be back any second with my wand,” Cormac chattered on. “I bet it’ll be a really cool one. I’m a first year if you couldn’t tell. What house are you hoping for? I wanna be in Gryffindor, house of the brave!”

“Everyone does,” Ember responded dully.

“Of course! It is, after all, the best house.” Cormac continued to chatter on, and Ember began to wonder whether he would continue anyway if she left. She was just about ready to kill herself after five whole minutes of his explanation of the rules of quidditch (most of which were wrong). Luckily, he was interrupted.

A very old man came hurrying out of the shelves of wand boxes. He didn’t look to be all there with his bulging eyes and frazzled hair. He hopped off the ladder with surprising agility for someone of his age and rushed over to Cormac, who, thankfully, shut up in his excitement. The man was holding a long, thin, and, to no one’s surprise, fairly dusty box. This could only be Ollivander.

“Here we are,” Ollivander declared, presenting a pale brown wand to Cormac. “Laurel, dragon heartstring core, thirteen inches, and a little rigid. Good for those who strive to stand out and aren’t afraid to make some mistakes along the way.”

Cormac eagerly took the wand. Almost immediately, the tip blazed with light, like a  _ lumos _ spell but much brighter. Cormac grinned madly.

“Very good, very good,” Ollivander said. “Try not to make too many mistakes, eh? That’ll be seven galleons.”

Cormac paid and left, leaving Ember alone with the eccentric wandmaker.

“Now, let’s see. Arms out please.” Ember spread her arms as some sort of enchanted tape measure sprang to life. It measured the usual things, like her height, arm span, and feet, but it also measured the distance between her eyes, the length of her hair, and specifically her left pinky finger. Ollivander began rummaging through the shelves, picking out boxes at what seemed like random.

Before even half a minute had passed, Ollivander returned with at least ten boxes, and snapped his fingers, causing the tape measure to go limp. “Here-sycamore, dragon heartstring, 12 inches.” He shoved the wand in question into Ember’s hand. “Well, what are you waiting for? Give it a wave!”

Ember immediately regretted it. A win swirled around her that seemed dead set on tangling her hair into perfect knots.

“Ooh, very bad match,” Ollivander hissed and snatched it out of her hand. “Elm, unicorn hair, 10 inches.” That one had no better results, knocking over the pile of wand boxes on the desk.

Alder, unicorn hair, 9 inches. A crack appeared in the window.

Pear, phoenix feather, 11 inches. It quite literally flew out of Ember’s hands.

Red oak, dragon heartstring, 13 inches. A vase of flowers exploded. Ollivander barely looked as it mended itself. Ember got the feeling that was a common occurrence.

This went on for at least forty wands before Ollivander started tugging on his hair, pulling out graying tufts as he went. He kept humming under his breath, but he didn’t seem to be losing steam.

About halfway through, while Ollivander was weighing two different wands in his hands, Ember looked through the window behind her and saw her cousin, Kara, walking away. She was walking with two other girls who also looked to be fifth years. Apparently, she’d gotten sick of waiting.

After a failed attempt with a yew wand, his eyes lit up. He vanished into the shelves, and Ember would have thought he’d completely disappeared if she couldn’t hear muffled clattering somewhere within the depths of the store. It took Ollivander almost a full minute before he reemerged, holding a box that looked a little different from the others. For one, it didn’t look a hundred years old. For another, there was no  _ Ollivander _ written in cursive on the side. Instead, it had an orderly  _ Wolfe _ printed on the top.

“A gift from a colleague in America,” Ollivander explained. He took out a deep red wand with distinct whorls on it that looked as if it had been freshly carved from a tree. There was no shine to it like most other wands, but it was still smooth to the touch. There was almost nothing in terms of decoration; the only thing was that the handle was slightly winder than the rest. “Never had the chance to use it. Cherry, thunderbird feather, 12 inches, surprisingly swishy.”

Before Ember even gave it a try, she knew it was different. When she gave it a wave, a series of purple sparks rained out of the tip and a warm feeling filled her up.

“Finally,” Ollivander muttered, but Ember pretended not to hear. “A rare wood, but rather strange. I do believe you’ll have some odd interests. And a thunderbird feather-it’s especially good for transfigurers, but I’ve never made one myself. It’s certainly unlike any other Hogwarts wand. That’ll be seven galleons.”

Ember paid quickly, eager to leave after what was probably nearing thirty minutes.

The sunlight outside was blinding after the musty indoors of Ollivander’s. The street was just as bustling as before. Neal was leaning against the wall, clearly bored out of his mind.

“Finally!” he exclaimed as Ember exited. “Look, just head back to the Leaky Cauldron and take the floo back, okay? I was supposed to meet Andrew and Toby fifteen minutes ago!” With that, he rushed off, leaving Ember in the middle of Diagon Alley, alone.

It wasn’t like Ember wasn’t used to it. Her old cousins tended to view her as nothing more than a nuisance, as older children would usually view younger children. Luckily, she could always make them feel bad about it for a favor later.

Sighing, Ember began the trudge back to the Leaky Cauldron. Diagon Alley wasn’t too long, but it was tiring to drag all her school supplies with her as well. It was all she could do to not drag the bags along the cobblestones.

“Hey,” said an unfamiliar voice.

“Need some help?” asked another.

Ember looked over her shoulder to see two identical, grinning boys. They looked to be around her age, maybe a little older, and they both had ginger hair and freckles.

“I’m alright,” Ember said, though she offered a little smile.

“You’re obviously not,” one boy pointed out.

“Just let us help,” the other wheedled.

Ember sighed. It felt like she was doing that a lot lately. She held out her two bags, one of books, one of clothes, to the boys, who immediately took them.

“I’m Fred,” one said.

“I’m George,” said the other.

“We’re second years,” they chorused.

“Looking at these books-”

“You’re a first year aren’t you?”

Ember found their strange speaking habits completely dizzying, but she replied, if a bit late, “Yeah.”

“What house are you hoping for?” Fred-or was it George?-asked.

_ Ah, _ Ember thought,  _ isn’t that the million galleon question? _ What house indeed. Ember settled for a shrug.

“We’re in Gryffindor,” George-or was it Fred?-declared proudly, his chest puffing up. “It’s the best house, of course.”

“Everyone seems to think that,” Ember mumbled.

“No reason not to,” one of the twins laughed.

_ For you maybe. _

Thankfully, the conversation after that merged into less weighty topics, such as the different classes at Hogwarts.

“Transfiguration’s interesting,” said the one Ember was fairly sure was George, “but you’ve gotta look out for McGonagall.”

“She’s ruthless!” Fred chimed in.

“Ollivander said my wand is good for transfiguration,” Ember said, turning the dark red wand in her hands. She kept thinking back to what Ollivander had said. A wand different from any other at Hogwarts. A wand different from them.

“So is mine,” George said cheerily, “didn’t stop me from driving McGonagall mad.”

Ember smiled at that. She hadn’t been sure about the twins at first. They were loud and confusing, and Ember had always avoided Gryffindors the best she could, but they were also nice and funny, and pretty different from the Gryffindors she knew.

“Well, this is me,” Ember said as they came up to the backside of the Leaky Cauldron. At this time of day, the brick wall in between was almost constantly open with the people streaming in and out. “I suppose I’ll see you at Hogwarts.”

“Of course you will,” Fred said airily.

“We have quite the reputation,” George hinted.

“But first, you haven’t even told us your name!”

“Bad manners.” George shook his head in mocking disapproval.

“It’s Ember…” Ember hesitated. Should she…? No. “Just Ember.”

“See you around, Just Ember,” the twins chorused before sauntering away. Ember was almost sad to see them go.

However, she quickly shook her head and began lugging her shopping into the dim interior of the Leaky Cauldron. She inquired with the innkeeper, Tom, who led her to a fireplace with a pot of floo powder beside it.

“Where’re your cousins?” he asked.

Ember shrugged as she grabbed a handful of the sooty powder. Tom gave her a pitiful look, but she pointedly ignored it. “Valient Mansion!”

In a flash of green fire, the Leaky Cauldron was replaced by a grand dining hall that was currently empty except for a smartly dressed woman who was dusting the chandelier on a rickety ladder. She looked over as Ember stepped out of the fire and smiled.

“Welcome home, Ember,” she called down, pausing in her work for a minute.

“Hello, Melinda,” Ember replied, dragging her bags out of the gigantic fireplace. “I don’t suppose my parents are home?”

Melinda shook her head. Ember sighed and began hauling her books as she left the dining room. She really was sighing too much lately.


	2. Not Quite Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ember meets some other first years on the Hogwarts Express and learns some things about the lives of other wizarding children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a very short chapter, but the next one is quite long. Please leave constructive criticism, I'm trying to improve my writing. Enjoy!

Ember stood awkwardly to the side as her family bustled around on the platform. It was always absolute chaos on September 1st for the Valients; getting multiple children onto the train was no small feat, especially when the entire family felt it necessary to come.

This year, five of them were going. Jackson, a seventh year Gryffindor, didn’t really like to associate with his younger cousins. Kara, a fifth year Gryffindor, had left at least ten minutes ago to go snag a compartment with her friends. Neal, a third year Gryffindor, was currently being fussed over by his parents along with Mary Anne, another first year, just like Ember. There were at least twenty Valients crowded into a corner of the platform, and it was a very large group.

Ember startled as a hand was laid on her shoulder. She looked up to see her mother, Janice Valient, smiling at her. Janice Valient was a beauty with perfectly styled blond hair and delicate features, and most people couldn’t fathom that brown-haired brown-eyed Ember could be her daughter. She gently led Ember over to a quieter corner where Ryland Valient, her father, was waiting.

“Excited, Ember?” Ryland asked, tousling her hair. Ember gave a small smile and patted her hair back down. Her parents were hardly ever around; their social lives contrasted horribly with Ember’s introverted nature. They used to take Ember to all sorts of events, but they started letting her stay home from most of them after it became apparent that a single dinner party burned her out for a week. Unfortunately, duty called, so Ember took every second with them she could get.

“I bet you’re nervous,” Janice said sympathetically, rubbing Ember’s shoulders. “Here’s some advice. Most Gryffindors are really very nice and outgoing, but you can always spend time with your cousins if you want to. Focus on your schoolwork as best you can, we understand if you get some A’s or E’s every once and a while. And keep away from the Slytherins, a nasty lot they are.” At that point the train whistle sounded, indicating that the students only had five minutes left to board. “Send us a letter from Gryffindor Tower,” Janice called as she nudged Ember towards the train.

Ember walked up to a car door, then turned around. Her parents were smiling and waving. Ember hesitated. Was this the time? No, it wasn’t quite right. She smiled, waved back, and entered the Hogwarts Express. What would they say if they knew she had no intention of being sorted into Gryffindor?

The Hogwarts Express had departed five minutes ago, and Ember still hadn’t found a seat. Luckily, little charms kept the train’s movement smooth. Every compartment was already full, and Ember hadn’t recognized anyone yet.

Thankfully, a voice called out to her. “Ember, is that you?”

Ember turned around to see, waving out of a compartment, Eddie Carmichael. Ember knew him from some of the social events she had attended with her parents. He was just as excitable as ever it seemed. Ember heaved a sigh of relief and slipped into the compartment with him. There were three other children in the compartment, all first years if you looked at their unmarked black robes.

There was Eddie, who was blond with blue eyes. You could see his dimples when he smiled, which meant you could see them all the time. He and Ember had met a few times before and had spent some time together purely because they were the only children in the room. Ember didn’t know much about him except that he was nice and very smart.

There was another boy who Ember didn’t know. He looked to be East Asian, maybe Japanese, and his black hair looked like it had been cut with a pair of safety scissors.

The first of the two girls was much too attractive for an eleven-year-old. She had smooth, dark brown skin, she was probably Indian, and her eyes were large and unnervingly piercing.

The last of the four was another girl. She had ramrod straight brown hair, and, although her features were delicate, her eyes were sharp and hawk-like.

“This is Ember Valient,” Eddie said as Ember took a seat and nodded politely. “She’s a friend of mine.” Ember started slightly at the word ‘friend’. She’d talked with Eddie for two hours, how did that make them friends? “Ember, this is Junpei Suruga, Shruti Dev, and Hestia Carrow. We all just met a few minutes ago.”

“Valient, huh?” Hestia muttered, looking at Ember shrewdly.

“Yeah,” Ember responded, unsure of what else to say.

“Is your family famous?” Shruti asked, her head cocked.

“Forgive Shruti,” Eddie cut in hastily, “she’s Muggleborn, so I guess she doesn’t know.”

Ember hesitated just long enough for Hestia to jump in, “The Valients are one of the oldest wizarding families in Great Britain. They’ve all been Gryffindors for generations; there are even rumors that they’re related to Godric Gryffindor himself.”

“Gryffindor,” Shruti said, “that’s the brave house, right?”

“Yeah,” Hestia continued, “but they’re also famous for their auror work. The Valients put away more Death Eaters than any other family. Including my mom and uncle.”

A tense silence fell over the compartment as Eddie, Shruti, and Junpei watched as Ember shrank under Hestia’s stare. Ember now recognized Hestia’s name. Carrow. As in Amycus and Alecto Carrow, two of the Death Eaters her parents in particular had hunted down and arrested. As far as Ember knew, they had been horrible people, but she couldn’t tell Hestia her mother had been arrested after killing two wizards and probably even more Muggles.

“I’m sorry,” Ember said quietly. She wasn’t sure what else to say.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Hestia shrugged. “They sucked anyway.” She smiled at Ember who immediately relaxed. “I got you, didn’t I? No, I barely knew them, and I know what they’ve done. It’s for the best your parents got to them.” Ember nodded, but let out a little nervous chuckle.

“Anyway,” Eddie continued, unfazed, “Ember’s parents are super rich, super famous aurors, and their whole family is full of well-known Gryffindors.”

“Interesting,” Junpei said, “that must be a lot of pressure.”

Ember tried to shrug in a nonchalant way. “I just want to make them proud.” And she did.

The conversation then switched to less heavy topics, such as the classes they’d be taking.

“Charms seems the most useful,” Eddie said. “I mean, when are you ever going to use Astronomy in your everyday life?”

“Herbology is useful too,” Hestia protested. “Wouldn’t you like to know which plants will eat you?”

“Potions is all-purpose,” Junpei cut in, “and it’s the most subtle form of magic!”

Shruti had a little journal out where she was taking notes, and Ember was doing the best she could to fill her in. She’d never really had much interaction with the Muggle world, so she wasn’t sure how much Shruti already knew.

“Charms are for certain types of spells,” Ember explained, “everyday things like levitation and animation.” Shruti looked a bit confused at that. “Herbology is plant studies. Mostly magical plants, but I do think we touch on some of the more mundane potion ingredients.”

“Like botany,” Shruti muttered as she scribbled it all down.

“Sure, like that.” Ember had only ever vaguely heard of botany before, but it dealt with plants, right? “And potions is, well, the creation of potions. You add certain ingredients and stir a certain way and there you have it.”

“Magical...chemistry…”

Ember wasn’t really sure what chemistry was either, but she kept her mouth shut.

“Ember, what about you?” Eddie demanded. “Charms is the best, right?”

“No, it’s Herbology!”

“Potions is obviously superior!”

Ember hesitated. She honestly…“I have no idea. I’ve never really done anything with them before.”

Hestia was dumbstruck, and even Eddie and Junpei looked a little taken aback. “Ember, haven’t you experimented with magic?”

“Of course not,” Ember said, confused. “It’s against the law for us to perform magic outside of school!”

“Yeah,” Hestia said, “but I mean before you got a wand. Didn’t you ever have any outbursts? It’s fun to experiment with your raw magic before getting a wand. How did you even know you were a wizard?”

“Well,” Ember replied, “my parents found out when I kept levitating things into my crib. They let it go on for a bit, but apparently, it got a bit destructive. I was shattering glass, vanishing stairs, and amplifying my voice left and right. They eventually got me a magic-blocking bracelet so I’d stop damaging property and causing scenes.”

“Wow,” Junpei said, “it must’ve been really bad. I dropped from fifteen feet when I was two years old due to a flying mishap, and my parents never got me that.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Ember shrugged. “Before I went to Ollivander’s, I hadn’t performed any magic in eight years.” Hestia frowned.

“Wait,” Shruti stammered, “are-are you not supposed to use your wand? I’ve been testing out spells all summer!” She looked genuinely worried about it.

“Technically, no,” Eddie explained patiently, “but the trace, the thing that tells the Ministry if we’re performing underaged magic, isn’t implemented until you actually go to Hogwarts. Most kids test out their wands as much as possible unless you’ve got the strictest parents on Earth.” At that, he grinned at Ember, who gave a half smiled back.

As far as she knew, nothing as dangerous as what Junpei described had ever happened to her. Though it did seem like she had a penchant for shattering anything made of glass. Maybe the constant glass shards lying around the house were enough for her parents; they’d always been a little overprotective.

Anyway, the bracelet had been removed a couple of days ago. Hopefully, Ember would never see it again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you're interested, here's my Tumblr: wonderlandmoonrose7.tumblr.com. Keep in mind it isn't a lot of Harry Potter, I kind of just reblog whatever interests me.


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